South London Cares – Winter Wellbeing

27 November 2017

Written by: South London Cares

South London Cares’ Winter Wellbeing project helps older people in Lambeth stay warm, active, healthy and connected through the cold and isolating winter months.

Local charity South London Cares runs Winter Wellbeing – an outreach project supporting older neighbours in these cold and isolating months. We reach as many people as possible by distributing leaflets, writing to neighbours referred to us by local Councils and knocking on doors to see if older neighbours need support or human connection.

The Big Give

This year, the Big Give Christmas Challenge is a week-long fundraiser to allow South London Cares to reach out to more older neighbours this winter. From 12pm Tuesday 28 December to Tuesday 5 December, all donations through The Big Give will be doubled. For more information and to donate see our South London Cares fundraising page.

Winter warmers

South London Cares hand out free blankets, warm clothes, and fuel grants of up to £100 to help with fuel bills and exposure to the cold. We provide information about accessing Council services and community activities for those who may be socially isolated. And of course, we invite anyone we meet to come to the 25 Social Clubs we run a month, or if they want a deeper friendship we can match older neighbours with young professional volunteers as part of our Love Your Neighbour friendship matching service.

Connecting generations

Alex Smith, CEO at South London Cares said:

“Through our conversations this winter, we will connect potentially hundreds of Londoners from different generations to share time, laughter, company, new experiences and friendship. The Big Give is vital for funding South London Cares’ winter work, and we’re so grateful for everyone’s support – which really does make a difference in Lambeth.”

At South London Cares, we are currently running our annual Winter Wellbeing outreach project, supporting older neighbours during the cold and isolating months. We reach as many people as possible by distributing leaflets, getting in touch with neighbours referred to us by local Councils, hanging out in supermarkets, doctors surgeries and pharmacies, and knocking on doors to strike up conversation with older neighbours we encounter, and see if they need support during the winter.

For more information

South London Cares is a community network of young professionals working with older neighbours who can feel left behind in London. Digitisation and gentrification can mean that some people have deep roots in their neighbourhoods, but no connections. They live side-by-side with young professionals who have hundreds of digital connections but no roots in the community. Through regular Social Clubs, a Love Your Neighbour programme and proactive outreach, South London Cares seeks to address this modern blight of disconnection. See more information and what else they’re doing this winter via their South London Cares website.

A recent Demos think tank study places Lambeth in the highest 25% for loneliness and isolation amongst older people in the UK. And with the proportion of over 60s expected to nearly double by 2030, this problem is growing.